Ferris State Hockey wins WCHA regular-season title in inaugural campaign

Big Rapids, Mich. - For the second time in three years, the Ferris
State University men's ice hockey team has claimed a conference
regular-season championship.

The Bulldogs posted a 2-1 triumph over Lake Superior State in the
regular-season finale on Saturday (March 8) evening before an announced
crowd of 2,551 fans inside the Ewigleben Ice Arena to claim the Western
Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Regular-Season crown.

The victory came on "Senior Night" as the Bulldogs honored five seniors in captain Scott Czarnowczan along with forwards Justin DeMartino, Andy Huff, Cory Kane and Garrett Thompson
prior to their final collegiate regular-season home game. The senior
class provided the early spark and accounted for all of FSU's scoring in
helping the Bulldogs to the win.

Senior Garrett Thompson
struck early in the opening stanza for the Bulldogs with his 15th goal
of the year only 1:03 into the game off a feed from fellow senior
captain Scott Czarnowczan.
That helped set the tone for the night as the Bulldogs took the early
1-0 lead. Thompson's marker came on a whistler to the glove side from
the right circle on an early 4-on-3 Bulldog power play.

Czarnowczan then found the back of the net himself for the Bulldogs'
second goal less than a minute later at 1:54 of the opening frame off an
assist from senior forward Justin DeMartino.
The goal was Czarnowczan's fifth of the year and proved to be the
eventual game-winner on a shot that went five-hole across the goal line.

However, Lake Superior State trimmed the margin to 2-1 only 29 seconds
in the second stanza on Colin Campbell's 14th goal this season in
unassisted fashion, but the Lakers could get no closer as the Bulldogs
shut the door.

LSSU entered the contest needing a win to reach the league's postseason
tournament while the Bulldogs were playing for a league crown. With the
win, the Bulldogs moved in front of Minnesota State in the league
standings and claimed the outright crown after the Mavericks battled to a
tie with Michigan Tech.

FSU finished the season with 42 league points to only 41 for the Mavericks en route to the MacNaughton Cup.

Czarnowczan picked up the game's first star by virtue of his two-point
night while Thompson claimed the second star and junior goaltender CJ Motte was the third star of the night. Motte made 24 saves in moving to 24-7-3 on the season.

Ferris State held a 31-25 edge in total shots and the Bulldogs finished
one-of-three on the power play for the game while holding LSSU off the
board in three tries with the man-advantage. Both teams were called for
four penalties totaling eight minutes in the box.

With the victory, the Bulldogs moved to 25-9-3 overall this season and
finished with a 20-6-2 league record. The 25 total wins to date
represent the fourth-most in a single season in school history.

On a night in which the Bulldogs honored and recognized its five-member
senior class, FSU recorded its 85th win over the last four years. The
total for this year's senior class represents the best four-year stretch
in school history.

Ferris State will be the first seed for the WCHA Playoffs and host
Bemidji State in a first-round series next weekend, March 14-16, inside
the Ewigleben Ice Arena. Games one and two are Friday and Saturday at
7:07 p.m. (ET) with the deciding third game on Sunday set for 5:07 p.m.
(ET) if necessary.

Tickets for the first-round series can be purchased in advance thru the
FSU Athletics Ticket Office located inside the Ewigleben Sports
Complex, online at StarTickets.com or by calling 1-800-585-3737. For
more information, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com or call (231)
591-2888. The ticket office is open Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. (ET).

The winner of next weekend's first-round playoff series will advance to
the WCHA Championship set for March 21-22 at Van Andel Arena in Grand
Rapids.